New York real estate is big on brands

NEW YORK – "Cautious optimism" were the words of New York City real estate brokers during a panel discussion at the Real Estate Connect conference Wednesday. Willie Kathryn Suggs, the principal of Willie Kathryn Suggs of Harlem in New York, talked about the Harlem real estate boom. "It began in 1994 when we noticed the change. It really became crazy in the last three years. People from all over the world are calling me about Harlem," she said. One reason for the sudden interest in Harlem real estate is the drop in crime, Suggs said. "That allowed African-Americans such as myself to come back and non-African-Americans who wanted an affordable place to live to also move here. There is still value in Harlem compared with the rest of city but it is getting harder to find it." She noted a property in contract for $3 million, which will be the highest price on record in Harlem. "Harlem also has had pockets of affluence but it was the surrounding neighborhood that frightened people," s...